A well orchestrated con job left me in debt

Immediately after Form Four, I was lucky to find employment in a nearby factory. Unlike other school leavers doing menial labour or idling, I was not only busy but also had some cash to buy myself the latest clothes and gadgets. 

My joy was, however, shortlived as I was laid off a few months later as the company 'streamlined its operations'. After being broke for some weeks, I ambled through the village looking for menial jobs in people's homesteads albeit halfheartedly because it had been a long time since I had done such work.

Each time I entered a homestead, I got disapproving looks. I could hear whispers as I walked from one home to another.

"Is he serious about working on the farm? I don't think he can manage such a taxing job. He should just go back to town and do whatever he used to do there," I heard one woman say.

I was just giving up and wondering what to do next when my neighbour decided to give me a chance. I was to work on his farm from morning to evening and earn Sh100. I thought the money was too little but I didn't have a choice.

At the end of the month, I had saved Sh2,500. Thankfully, I had received a letter to join college and decided I could use the money to 'reward' myself in the few remaining weeks.

One fine morning,a week before reporting to college, I received a text message from an unknown number that included a woman's name as the intended recipient of the message. I called the sender and informed him that he had sent the message to the wrong number. The message had some sort of a price list that amounted to Sh2.5 million and some digits that looked like bank account details.

The stranger thanked me for informing him and requested me not to disclose the text to any other person because it had a transaction number that if known, would make him lose a large sum of money.

I promised not to tell anyone. The next morning, the stranger called again and assured me that his money was intact. In addition, he promised to offer me 250 pounds (Sh37,000) as a way to thank me for the 'favour'.

This made me happy as he also gave me the number of an international bank officer who, after calling me, promised to have the money in my account within 24 hours. The problem was that I had no bank account. Luckily, I learnt that it was a simple process to open one, which I did the same day.

I quickly sent the account details to the bank officer who said he would process "my cash" immediately. "Just one more request. The international transaction will cost Sh4,000, which you need to send to the following number," he said and asked me to write down what I later realised was a mobile number.

But my eyes were too fixed on the ultimate prize to realise this was a scam. I had only Sh1,500 at the time, so I borrowed Sh2,500 from my friends after assuring them that I would pay back immediately "a certain deal came through".

The bank officer called me to say he had received the money and bank details and I was to wait for 24 hours for the transaction to be effective. After 24 hours, I visited the bank and found that my account had nothing. When I called the two guys to find out, I was shocked that the phone numbers were not going through. I kept trying in vain.

I was too embarrassed to admit to anyone that I had been conned and evaded my friends until I joined college. I hope to pay them back soon.